Dragon Warrior
Reviewed by Flufmoogle
This game was the RPG that started the whole sensation. I remember being
a little kid, seeing it being played and being very confused at this new concept
of HP, equipping things, and spells. The back of the box even mentions "A game
where the speed of your fingers is nothing to the skill of your mind" or
something like that. Well, anyway, onto the review
Graphics: 6 out of 10
Okay, this game was very primitive. It had about an 8 color palette, and
everything had a little jog in place movement, there isn't very much to
complement about these graphics. We did get upgraded graphics in the US
version though, in the Japanese version all you saw was the front of the
people and it didn't switch to side views when they walked. We also got a
coastline, and in the other version water was just a solid blue block with
little waves. We must keep in mind, though, that graphics, sound, or glamor
is NOT what this game is all about.
Music: 4 out of 10
Okay, as I said, glamor is not what this game is about. This game has a about
6 songs, a battle one, an overworld one, a town one, a castle one, and a really
neat opening again. This opening song is why I didn't give it a 2, it sounds
really knights-and-castles like. There is one song, the castle song, that they
play in many places, and anyone who has beaten or played this game for
prolonged periods of time will never forget it.
Challenge: 10 out of 10
This game is VERY hard. It is hard in the fact of there is no way to just "breeze
through it and get the secrets later." You must have every single little secret
to beat the game. Sometimes, you don't know where to go and run off to some
area where the monsters are 10 levels higher than you. Its hard even to find
where to go next, for that matter. Dying is incredibly easy, and running is a
must at some places. You can also only save at 1 place, so when you're stuck
in the desert with monsters much stronger than you and don't have an item to
take you out of it, you're pretty dead. The last boss is actually 2 people, the
first is easy, and the second is near impossible.
Game play-fun 8 out of 10
The story is very simple, it says it all on the cartridge sticker "seek out the
dragons lair." This is fun, as you don't have to follow 4000 twists like you do
in any modern RPG. The only reason I don't give this game a 10, is because it
is VERY frustrating and sometimes VERY boring to level up all the time. This
game needs leveling up like you've never seen before. No Final Fantasy comes
even close. Veteran roleplayers will find it fun to see, simplified, everything
that RPGs evolved from. Of course, nobody is really a veteran without playing
this came.
Game Value
Go pick it up at Funcoland for $2.99. I would have payed about 30 bucks for it,
it is very easily worth this pocket-change price.
Overall 9 out of 10
This game shows everyone the baby-RPG experience. It is more of an experience,
in fact, than it is a game. I don't give it a 10 because its sound and graphics,
which are very minor factors, are very primitive. Go buy it, its well worth it. And
if you find any of its sequels, you are VERY lucky. The sequels are expensive and
rare, I would pay 50 bucks for one.